


"Be Safe"

by DreamStar37



Category: To The Moon (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, brine - Freeform, carcrash, i can make it worse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-12 06:46:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13541934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamStar37/pseuds/DreamStar37
Summary: Reeling back, Neil more heard then felt his back hit the wall as he slid down to the floor.The note... the last thing Eva 'said' to him...He'd forgotten to tell her to "be safe"





	1. Deer in headlights

Everyday before Eva left work, Neil would tell her to "be safe!" It became almost like a ritual, something to look forward to at the end of a hard day. So, when no sound came from Neil's office, Eva worried. He didn't like anyone entering unannounced but... with a sigh, she pushed the door open.  
The office lights were off, the only light coming from the computer screen. Scattered papers covered his desk, scrawled notes that only made half sense, an empty cup that used to contain coffee. In the center of the chaos, sat her partner.  
Neil lay asleep, sprawled over his keyboard snoring softly, glasses askew. She couldn't help but smile fondly at the sight. He had been working so hard lately, it was good to see him resting. Even if it was in his office instead of a bed, like normal people slept in. Deep down, she was worried.

...Not that she'd tell him any of this, he'd never let her live it down. Walking up to stand next to him, she gently shook his shoulder.  
"Hey... C'mon moron, you shouldn't be sleeping at work..."  
He shifted slightly, mumbling something incoherent before settling back into sleep. With a sigh, she rubbed her own tired eyes in frustration. This wasn't going to work.  
One hurried note later, Eva found herself standing at the door to Neil's office again. With a final glance back, it was time to go home.

It was a new moon tonight, the sky hung pitch black above her. Her night vision had never been the best, it usually wasn't a problem as she went home before sunset. She'd been staying at the office later recently, covering for Neil. The extra paperwork was a hassle, but at least it meant he could get more sleep. As soon as he was feeling better though, he so owed her one.  
For now though, she just had to focus on not falling asleep at the wheel... Maybe this was a mistake, she really shouldn't be driving right now.  
No matter how much she shook her head, her vision remained out of focus. Come on Eva... driving isn't that hard, just keep the wheel straight, foot on the pedal, watch out for-

Eva jerked awake just as a deer shot in front of the car, swerving violently to the side, right into the path of a semi truck. Blinded by the lights, she attempted to block the light with her arm. She felt just as much like a deer in headlights as the literal deer staring at her from the other side of the road.  
Time seemed to move in slow motion, the sound of her car crunching on impact making her head ache. As the car rolled into the ditch, glass shattering all around her, apples tumbling out of the glove box... a couple thoughts stood out in her panicked mind.

One; Her car was _definitely_ totaled.  
Two; She hated that deer with a vengeance, but at least it wasn't a squirrel.  
Three; Who was going to look after Neil...

...Eva's thoughts slowed to a crawl, as she hung upside down, suspended by her seat belt. Everything hurt, it was hard to breath, to think... The edges of her vision were tinged black, white stars danced and died before her. She thought she heard distant shouting coming from outside, but couldn't understand the words... The pain had subsided, her limbs felt heavy and numb. Blood had pooled below her, reflecting back a face she no longer recognized.  
As she drifted into unconsciousness, one last thought whispered sadly.

... _Who was going to look after her...?_

.  
.  
.

Neil awoke with a start, sitting up slowly. He really needs to stop falling asleep in his chair, his back was killing him... Glancing at the clock revealed it was 4:39 am, damn, guess he wasn't going home tonight. Might as well get back to work, or at least, games that made it look like he was working.  
...Huh? A sticky note was stuck to the computer screen. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he squinted at the purple handwriting.

_"I'm heading home, make sure you get more sleep! Be safe -Eva_ "

Hm, guess he was so tired he'd completely missed seeing her off... Oh well, he would just have to make sure to apologize when she arrived in the morning. With that thought, he loaded up a game.


	2. Grief

So. Bored. Neil glared at the clock, it was 11:41 am and Eva wasn't at work yet. He'd played all the games he owned, some of them multiple times, but nothing was really catching his interest. A small seed of concern had sprouted in his chest, and he shoved it back mercilessly.  
Eva was fine. She probably just overslept or something. She'd been overworking herself recently, deciding to do his paperwork for him instead of letting him procrastinate until the last minute. He appreciated it but at the same time, the dark circles under her eyes worried him.  
...Not that he'd ever let her know he was worried, he had to maintain his nonchalant attitude after all.  
Maybe to make it up to her, he could suggest they go to the aquarium or something. She might like that, he just had to ask all casual, like he couldn't really care less. Yes, brilliant idea Neil, why thank you Neil. He nodded to himself, yep, he was awesome.  
Another glance at the clock, 11:42 am, dangit.

Oh, his phone was ringing. Eva's number lit up on his screen, and he immediately picked up.  
"Hey Dumpling, what's up?" He answered a little too fast.

" _Hello, is this Neil Watts?_ " Neil narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the unfamiliar voice.

"...You're not Eva, who is this"

" _This is St. Nicholas Hospital, a 'Neil Watts' was registered as the first emergency contact on this phone. Once again, are you Mr. Watts?_ "

What.  
"...What, I mean uh, yeah... yeah this is Weil Natts, wait, Watts, Neil, yes" His hands were shaking, come to think of it, it wasn't just his hands. A shuddering feel accompanied every breath, his chest rattling emptily. It was getting hard to stand, he took a step back trying to keep his balance.

" _Alright, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news Mr. Watts. Last night at approximately 2:30 am, Ms. Rosalene was involved in a car crash. She's in stable condition now, but hasn't woken up yet._ "

Neil felt something icy cold settle in his chest, freezing his heart solid. The feeling spread, until even the tips of his fingers felt chilled to the bone. Yet his mind raced, Eva, car crash, the note...  
Realization hit him like the very same thing that had nearly killed his partner.

Reeling back, Neil more heard then felt his back hit the wall as he slid down to the floor.  
The note... the last thing Eva 'said' to him...

He'd forgotten to tell her to "be safe" ...  
This was all his fault, it was only two words and yet he couldn't even be bothered to wake up for her. It wasn't that hard, the little smile she always had when he said that... He-

Nonsense words were still sounding from his phone, left forgotten on the floor where he'd dropped it.  
How long ago was that again? Was time even passing anymore, it felt like hours.  
Neil cast a wary glance up at the clock once more... 11:47 am, fuck.  
Crawling over to the discarded phone, he shakily held it back up to his ear.  
"...huh?"

" _I said, will you be coming in to visit her, Mr. Watts?_ " The voice sounded impatient, he didn't blame them.

"Yeah, yeah... I'm just gonna... be right over" Using the wall as leverage, he somehow managed to stand again. He felt the room spin, untethered from reality. Behind him was chaos, one misstep away from falling into a grief stricken spiral, he refused to look back. Denial had gotten him this far in life, this was no different, just another setback in the mess of his life.  
The car keys cutting into the palm of his hand helped him focus. He could work later, right now he just needed to see Eva.  
He would walk in, and she'd chide him for missing work. She would heal, come back to work, everything would be the same as it always was. He would take her to the aquarium on a totally-not-a-date date, and she would laugh in that way that made his heart flutter.  
Everything would be fine, _she would be fine_.

The hallway outside his office was empty except for one other doctor. Freaking Robert.  
Neil shuffled past him, head lowered and hoping he wouldn't be spotted.

"Neil where on Earth are you going?" Robert's dreaded voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Heading out, work to do" he grumbled under his breath, staring down the hall away from the other. Robert was staring at him now, whatever task he had been doing temporarily forgotten.

"Is this about Eva" it wasn't a question, Robert already seemed to know the answer.

He finally turned, looking Robert in the eyes. "...She's in the hospital, I'm just going to make sure she isn't stressing about not working. You got a problem with that?"  
He was being standoffish, not enough energy to pretend to be nice.

Something in Robert's expression changed, ever so slightly. If Neil had blinked he would have missed it. He looked... concerned? His brows knitted together, the corners of his mouth down turned. Maybe he was just upset they were down two employees.

After a long pause, he spoke up "Alright, I understand... I'll cover for you today, just go check on her." Robert's voice concealed a subtle rumble, like he was straining to speak.  
It was something Neil had never heard before from the older doctor.

With a nod, he briskly fled down the hall. Best to leave before Robert changed his mind, or any other coworkers decided to interrupt him.

The drive to the hospital went by in a blur, he wasn't really taking in anything around him.  
A part of Neil knew this was risk taking behavior, driving wasn't exactly the best thing to do when panicking, unless he wanted to end up like Eva. ' _That wouldn't be so bad_ ' the selfish part of him whispered treacherously. ' _Then we could be together, no need to worry if you're dead..._ '  
He felt his fingers clench around the steering wheel, knuckles turning white under the pressure.  
No. He needed to focus, Eva needed him to focus. Determination set, Neil continued down the road in silence.


	3. On hospital time

Neil hated hospitals. Just the smell alone instantly sent a shot of anxiety through his chest, and the lights and sounds made his teeth ache. Too bright, too loud, too _much_. Trips to the hospital were never for a good reason either, dying was the default in such a place.  
Yet, Neil still found himself standing inside a hospital, hesitating outside room #353, Eva's room.  
It wasn't that he didn't want to see her, much the opposite in fact. He wanted to see her so bad his chest ached. But a storm raged in his lungs, clashing and quaking his resolve down to the very core of his being. Like his lungs were full of smoke, like he wasn't getting enough air... Taking in long, deep breaths, struggling to stay afloat as the hurricane in his head tried to drown him.  
Before him stood the eye of the storm in the shape of a simple wooden door.

Shoving his shaking hands in his pockets, Neil mentally cursed the door. Oh! How _easy_ it was to simply turn the doorknob and walk through! Yet he still stood there, not even able to breath, let alone move. He could just hear Eva teasing him now, something about facing his fears, namely the door. The memory of her voice, lilting and twinkling, comfort in the empty space between stars.  
Neil coughed lightly to clear the smoke, and opened the door.

Soft, steady beeping greeted his ears. As annoying as the noise was, it meant that they were still alive, that _she_ was still alive.  
The second Neil's eyes landed on her still form, the storm subsided. He could still feel it, wind howling at the edges of his thoughts, threatening and ever looming. But this little room, nothing more than a small island at the dead center of the chaos, remained still.

While Neil's storm remained in his head, Eva's storm had invaded her reality. Deep purples and blues covered her skin, multiple stitched wounds, left arm covered by a lavender cast. If not for the ever present heart monitor, Neil would have sworn she was dead.  
Slowly, he found himself standing beside her. A gentle hand brushing her cheek, reassuring himself that she was real, that she was still here... Cold, like ice. Pulling up a little plastic chair, Neil prepared himself for a long night.

...

It had been a _whole week_ , and Eva still hadn't woken up. Neil barely left the hospital room anymore, the outside world felt like a distant memory. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten anything substantial. The crappy hospital coffee didn't even taste like coffee at this point, he lost count around 57 cups.  
Others visited too, coworkers, friends, Eva's family. Traci had spent some nights at the hospital, sitting in a chair opposite from him as they waited for her to wake. Neil hadn't seen her parents yet though, or any other family besides her sister. He wasn't one to judge, he doubted his parents would ever visit him in the hospital, but still. He would have liked to think Eva had a caring family besides a single sibling.  
Around day three, when it became clear that Neil wasn't coming back in to the office, Robert had shown up with a laptop. Something about at least trying to get some work done instead of sulking. No matter how much he tried, all his writing produced was a mess of garbled words. Eventually he received an email from Robert containing just one word; _Stop_.

He'd lost track of the days some time ago.  
His hair was disheveled, clothes wrinkled to hell, trusty lab coat more of a blanket than professional wear. About a day ago he'd washed his hair in the tiny bathroom sink attached to the room, not enough energy for a proper shower. A part of him knew this wasn't healthy, that he was crashing hard, but he couldn't bare the thought of leaving Eva by herself, not again.  
The hospital staffs words were lost on him, any and all information merging together into one big cacophony of meaningless noise. It was probably important stuff he was missing out on here. Oh well, this was stuff for future Neil to worry about, present Neil was busy not thinking.

A change in the room woke him.  
Blinking in the light, disoriented, he tried to figure out what exactly was wrong. Everything still looked the same, though his glasses were dirty, it was hard to tell.  
Taking his glasses off for a moment to clean him, he squinted down at folded bed sheets.

Without warning, a gentle hand brushing his cheek startled him out of his thoughts.  
His head shot up, blurry vision obscuring the details of the face in front of him.  
Eva was awake, and looking _right_ at him.


	4. All we are is who we've left behind

Neil couldn't believe his eyes, and it wasn't just because he couldn't really see right now. He felt frozen under her gaze, breath held as he waited for her to do something, to speak, anything.  
A hand still pressed to his cheek, her head turned slightly to the side, in confusion?  
Like she was inspecting him.

"...Eva?"   
Her hand retracted, and he took the opportunity to put his glasses back on. She was still staring at him, and he suddenly realized he'd missed seeing that deep brown. Under her unrelenting gaze, he felt his cheeks redden and looked away in embarrassment.

"What's wrong?" her voice cracked from misuse, and she blinked, taken aback by the sound.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong it's just, you're awake, you're okay..." In relief, he was rambling, the stress of the last couple weeks taking it's toll. For right now, this very minute, he didn't even care if he told Eva everything, just that she was alright, that he could talk to her again.  
Nothing could ruin this, _nothing._

Eva's nervous smile pulled him back to reality, something in her eyes looked wrong.  
"I'm sorry, but... who are you again?" _What._

"I... it's me, Neil! Your partner?" His heart was racing almost as fast as his thoughts. Past conversations with the hospital doctors resurfaced, bad crash, trauma, brain damage...

_Eva didn't remember him._

Overwhelmed by too many emotions, Neil felt himself sink back into numbness, the old coping mechanism still useful after all these years.

"Partner?" She was watching him with interest now, perking up at the thought of new information.  
It took a second for him to comprehend the words, this Eva wasn't even trying to hide her curiosity. Without the weight of her memories, she was like an open book with empty pages.  
It was a little more than he could handle at the moment.

"Yeah uh... you and I were, _are_ partners. We work together at Sigmund Corp..."  
Eva was leaning forward, hanging on to every word, before looking confused.

"If we work together, then why don't I remember? Why am I here?"  
She looked at him like he held all the answers in the world, and for her it was true, as far as she knew he was the only person that currently existed.

"You... you had an accident, a car crash" at his words she looked down at the cast, the bruises, and seemed to understand. No further explanation was required.

"...Can you tell me what we do at... Smundig, was it?"

Neil couldn't help but grin "Sigmund, and sure" he straightened in the chair, Eva's eyes tracking his every movement.  
"We're doctors, basically we traverse through geezer's memories back to their childhood, and then send a signal for them to relive their life better, instead dying sad and alone."

...

Eva asked a lot of questions, she wanted to know everything and Neil wasn't sure he had all the answers.   
What he did know is that he was tired, after recounting practically all the information he knew about her past.   
Which surprisingly, wasn't much. Eva was just as elusive about her past as he was.

"But what about you, I know we're partners but who am I to you?" her voice woke him up again, just enough to shift in his seat before slouching again.

"You're... Eva, my best friend..." Neil mumbled, before falling into a deep sleep.


End file.
